Hospitalization vs Outpatient Treatment of Young Febrile Infants: 10-Year Comparison

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Abstract
The evaluation and treatment of febrile infants remains a hot topic in pediatrics despite several decades of study. In 1983, two articles1,2 were published detailing the management of febrile infants at The Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, Md. Since then, published studies have described ways to determine which infants are at high or low risk for serious bacterial infection.3-9 Many criteria have been touted as being relatively safe and effective methods of making such determinations,10-12 and house staff and practicing pediatricians alike have incorporated these into their practice. We, therefore, sought to determine if there had been any significant changes in the management of febrile infants at our institution after a decade of experiences, studies, and debates of our own and others. The objectives of this study were to (1) determine what proportion of febrile infants younger than 2 months evaluated in our medical center are